ROKSAN K3

[ElectricDreamZZZ]

I just moved into my new house and the owner left behind this 15kg/33 pound MONSTER of an Amplifier- said he didnt want it anymore

It has bluetooth but was wondering what would be a great cheap (ish) DAC i can pair with it. As it doesnt have a built in DAC to just use an optical out pass through, the onboard DAC needs to be pretty decent I suppose.

I do have an old google chromecast audio lying about, but never used its actual analogue output. I have an IOTAVX SA3 / Monitor Audio Bronze 100 combo (fantastic amp btw) paired with it using optical out, so ideally i dont want to keep swapping it around etc ...

Also any good speaker pairings? the amp is rated @ 140w / 8 ohms and 220w /4 ohms - so its also a power beast !!!

Thanksamuchly

 

[DanielT]

Hello welcome here!

*Budget for the speakers?
*What does your listening room look like?
*DAC, with or without volume control / pre amp? Combined DAC + Streamer?

Your ROKSAN K3 seems to have remote control. Cheap good DAC:

Topping D10 Balanced Review (USB DAC)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the new Topping D10 Balanced. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $139. The D10 Balanced as the name implies, comes in my favorite USB DAC package with the same cute orange display: Back panel is where the difference is: Balanced...

audiosciencereview.com

DAC / Streamer:
(With Linux)

Allo Boss2 Review (Stereo Streamer)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Allo Boss2 Ethernet (and wifi) streamer/player. It was sent to me by the company for testing and costs US $149 by itself. My tested configuration included the Nirvana power supply which brings the cost up to US $209. I must say, I am very...

audiosciencereview.com

Edit:
Monitor Audio you say. Do you have the wallet and the place for them, I had examined these:

Monitor Audio Silver 500 7g

Nice measurements today from Soundstage hifi…someone get Amir the 100 7g https://www.soundstagenetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2685:nrc-measurements-monitor-audio-silver-500-7g-loudspeakers&catid=77:loudspeaker-measurements&Itemid=153

audiosciencereview.com

Less money, one of the most common recommended speakers here at ASR is:

Elac Debut Reference DBR-62 Speaker Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Elac Debut Reference DBR-62 bookshelf speaker. It was kindly purchased new and drop shipped to me for testing. The DBR-62 costs US $600 a pair from multiple sources/dealers. The DBR-62 comes in black and walnut finish or the distressed Oak and...

audiosciencereview.com

But maybe you have completely different requirements, wishes?

 

[ElectricDreamZZZ]

As an interim measure i purchased THIS cheap £20 bluetooth dac and connected a cheap amazon echo dot to it via bluetooth for streaming and it sounds startlingly good! unfortunately and rather annoyingly, roksan no longer ship any K3's built after 2021 with bluetooth due to chip shortages !!!! so the 5.0 bluetooth in this tiny DAC was very handy, plus it has coaxial and optical inputs. have no idea what dac it is but it doesnt sound fatiguing nor have that harsh shrill sound of cheap dacs.

for a dac i would like a 192/24 bit affair (for amazon hd streaming i do not need DSD or lossless etc) with built in aptx hd bluetooth and chromecast and airplay streaming. I do think i need tone controls as i do like to turn up the bass and treble slightly - not a v curve level but just a slight tweak.

budget for speakers prob no more than £850. roksan are owned by Monitor Audio so maybe a bronze 500?